Water Bath Canning

Remember when pressure or water bath canning, fresh high quality food makes better high quality product.

Fill your canner about one third full of water. Heat water until hot, not boiling.

Wash your jars and keep warm. Jars can be washed by hand or in the dishwasher

If processing time is less than 10 minutes,you will need to sterilize your jars. Most recipes call for at least 10 minutes processing time.

Keep jars hot until ready to be filled. For keeping jars hot, I have two options for you.

Place the clean jars upside down in a large pot with 2 or 3 inches of hot water. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Leave the jars in the water until ready to be filled.

This second way is my preferred method. Wash the jars in the dishwasher and then simply leave them there until ready to fill. Keeping the door to the dishwasher closed keeps in the steam and heat. Remove the jars a couple at a time as needed.

I also like to warm the canning seals.

Remember even in water bath canning the lids do NOT need to be boiled for sterilization.

They just need to be warmed. I like to have them in a small bowl on my counter. Just before I place them on my jars. I take a scoop of hot water from my canner and pour it over the lids. This warms and rinses them for placement on the jars.

Prepare and pack food according to instructions in your recipe.

Fill jar leaving the recommended head space

Remove air bubbles by running a non-metallic spatula around the inside of the jar. I like to use a plastic orange peeler for this step. It is small and easily slides down. A small rubber spatula will also work.

Wipe the rim of the jar clean with a damp tea towel or paper towel.

Place seals and rings on jars. Tighten finger tight. You really don’t have to crank down hard, snug is fine.

Place jars on the rack in the canner. The rack will keep your jars off the bottom and will also keep them from hitting each other.

The rack should be built so that it rests on the sides of the canner keeping the jars above the water until you have it loaded and then can be lowered down. The picture shows the jars lowered into the canner

Lower the rack gently to the bottom. The jars must not sit directly on the bottom of the canner, or touching each other.

Water needs to flow freely around each jar. Add hot water if needed until the jars are covered by at least 2 inches.

You can also process jars in any pot deep enough to have jars fully covered in boiling water. You will need to put something under the jars to keep them off the bottom. A neighbor of mine uses a small piece of board. I've also heard of using a hand towel. Water bath canners are not too expensive so it may be worth it to just get one.

Check occasionally to be sure that the canner is maintaining a full boil. You may also need to add boiling water to keep the water level up.

When your time is up, turn off the heat.

Carefully raise the rack and jars up. Waite a minute or two before you take your jars out of the canner

Using a jar lifter, carefully remove the jars and set upright on a wooden board or a thick towel to cool. Be sure they are in a draft free area and leave 1 to 2 inches of space in between so air can circulate.

I have butcher block in my kitchen so I simply set them there to cool.

Listen ...

Did you hear it?? This is my favorite part. As the jars cool, the seals (or flats) will pull down and seal. They make the coolest little pinging sound. For some odd reason I love that sound. It is so satisfying. It means all my work is working! Water bath canning is so easy!

Resist temptation to press the lids at this point. If your kids are like mine keep them away too! Leave the jars alone until cool.

After jars have cooled, NOW you may press on the lid to check the seal. The seal should be sucked down and not pop up. If you find a jar that did not seal, simply put the jar in the fridge and plan on using the food within a few days.

Remove the screw cap and wash the jar. The outsides will often be sticky. It is a good idea (but not essential) to store without the screw cap.

Sometimes the caps will rust if you leave them on. If you have one that is stuck don't force it, you may break the seal. Just go ahead and store it with the screw cap in place.

Label the jar with the food type and date.

You may think that labeling the type of food isn't necessary if you can obviously see it is canned pears. However, what if you are canning applesauce using different types of apples for each batch? You will want to know which is which when you open them later. You can then decide which you like better for next time.

For example from experience, my family knows that Jona-gold apples are the our favorites for the BEST applesauce. (In our humble opinion)

Always record a date, at least the year. That way when you find a jar in the waaaay back of your cupboard, you will know how old it is. You think you will keep them straight, but it is so easy to forget and so easy to label them now. Trust me. Just do it.

Store your jars in a cool, dark, dry environment. Usually a pantry is fine. Don't store in a utility room where there are hot pipes or high humidity. Direct sunlight is a no-no as well.

You are Done!!

Now stand back and admire the colorful gleaming jars of nutritious foods ready for your family.

Waterbath Canning works for all these recipes.

Questions from my inbox.

Question: I recently was water bath canning and processed pickles and jalapenos. When I did the water bath I did everything by the book, ball blue book. But, i didnt cover the canner when i processed them. I processed them an extra 5-10 minutes and am wondering if you think they are ok. I found the top now and will be using it in the future.

Answer: Yes they should be fine. Really the extra processing time was not needed as long as the water was boiling for the entire processing time. Having the lid will just make heating the water to boiling easier and more fuel efficient. Glad you found your lid.

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